“One – hospital provision, under-funding of hospitals, waiting times and STP – sustainability and transformation plans, which are putting at risk a lot of A&E departments all around the country.

He added: “The second element is social care, under-funding of social care, the need to improve social care and improve the way in which we treat care workers.

“They’re vital, valuable, very responsible and very well experienced people. They should be treated better and paid better.

“Third, there is a mental health crisis across the country.

“I feel very passionately about this, that’s why I have appointed a shadow minister at cabinet level just for dealing with mental health because I think as a country we have to face up to the crisis we’re in, fund it properly, but above all change the mood music as well.

Mr Corbyn earlier met staff at George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, which has just come out of special measures.

Speaking of the visit, he said: “Well done all those that work in that hospital but they are under-funded, they have problems releasing elderly patients who need social care because the social care facilities are over-stretched and not available to them.”

He added: “The concerns there are frail, elderly patients who’ve had the necessary hospital treatment then need to go home, or go into a care facility of some sort.

“It’s not available, there isn’t anyone to care for them because the local authority’s budget is so stretched, so they stay in hospital longer.

“It costs the hospital £1,500 to £2,000 per week.

“It stops somebody else going into hospital, it may delay an operation for sombody else and it increases the cost and misery for everybody.”

Mr Corbyn said: “It’s not the fault fo the older person who is stuck in hospital, it’s the fault of a Government that under-funds local authorities who want to provide the social care that is necessary.

“It’s a social care problem across the whole of Britain.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “The Government has committed to a £10 billion funding increase each year by 2020/2021 for the NHS, which is dealing with more patients than ever before whilst improving care.

“This includes £4 billion extra this year, as well as more money for building new hospitals.

“Many councils are providing high-quality social care services within existing budgets so we are helping spread good practice, backed by access to up to £3.5 billion extra by 2020.”

Our Aims: About Us

To support users and ex-users of psychiatric services in the Manchester area. The organisation provides a forum for services users to have a bona fide say in planning and provision of mental health services.

Protesters in King’s Lynn fight against mental health service cuts

Protesters took to the streets of King’s Lynn to voice their anger at what they described as “continuous” cutbacks to mental health services in west Norfolk.

Mental health cuts protest

A protest march against cuts to mental health services and the Fermoy Unit at the QEH took place in King's Lynn town centre. Picture: Matthew Usher.

More than 100 campaigners marched from The Walks through the town centre before finishing outside the Majestic Cinema.

Peter Smith, former parliamentary candidate for south-west Norfolk said: “We are in the fight of our lives here.”

The protest was triggered by the Fermoy Unit, an in-patient NHS facility in Lynn for mental health, which campaigners say faces an uncertain future. The unit was briefly closed to new admissions earlier this month, but reopened last week, albeit with fewer beds.

Mr Smith said: “In my lifetime we have never had to fight like this, but what is the alternative?”

But Debbie White, director of operations for Norfolk at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said there were now no plans to axe the Fermoy Unit.

She added: “It is right that mental health services should be valued and funded on the same level as acute health services, and it is understandable people feel passionate about the Fermoy Unit remaining open.”

Labour party activist Jo Rust insisted the issue would not disappear. She said: “They have been talking about closing it for a long time. We will fight and we will not let them do that.”

Beth Anthony, 18 of Dersingham, said: “We are here to protest against the continuous cuts to the mental health service, we think it’s unacceptable. My younger brother suffers from poor mental health and has to travel to London... That is to the detriment of my family because we have to pay for him to go down by train every single month.”